REMINDER: The next tournament at the club, the Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial, starts Wednesday, Oct. 18.
Players must be present by 7 p.m. in Room C159 of the McKay Complex at Fitchburg State University
in order to be paired for Round 1.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 p.m.
The event honors the memory of Ernest E. Fandreyer (1926-2012), professor emeritus,
who taught mathematics at Fitchburg State from 1965 to 1998.
He played the key role in the Wachusett CC acquiring Fitchburg State as its playing site in September 2005.

The 2017 Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial tournament, honoring the memory of one of the founders of the Wachusett Chess Club in February 1960, will begin on Wednesday, Sept. 13, in Room C159 of the McKay Complex at Fitchburg State University.
Players must be present by 7 p.m. in order to be paired for Round 1. Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 p.m. The following are the ratings in effect for this tournament.

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 1 on September 13th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.
NOTE: USCF membership must be current in order to play USCF rated games.

On-again-off-again Wachusett CC player Dave Martin of Boylston, Mass. captured first place in the Under 1700 section of the Metrowest Chess Club's "Hot Summer Days Swiss," held Tuesday nights, Aug. 1-29, at the Natick Community Center. Martin, competing in the 21-player U1700 division, scored 4.5-0.5, to take home first prize. A total of 77 players took part in the four-section tournament, which also saw the participation of Wachusett CC players Rob King of Framingham and Arthur "Dwight" Bramble of Worcester.
-George M

♗ Requesting a half-point bye for Round 4 is Vince Premus.
♙ Andrew Paul, who last played in a tournament at the club on Sept. 18, 2013, visited the club and informed us that he is now living in New Hampshire and working as a chef at a resort hotel in the Mount Washington area. On his visit, Andrew got to play a few skittles games using John Bastarache's flexible silicone chess pieces.

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 4 on August 30th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

Edward D.W. Goguen, who was president of the Wachusett Chess Club more than 55 years ago, died Saturday, Aug. 19, in Endwell, NY, where he had resided since 1963. Goguen, who was vice president of the club when it officially adopted the name Wachusett Chess Club in February 1960, played a key role in the running of the club, which met at that time at the Lt. Laurence S. Ayer Post, Veterans of Foreign Wars headquarters, at 10 Pleasant St. in Fitchburg. Goguen was born in Fitchburg on May 3, 1926 and graduated from Fitchburg High School in 1944. While he and his wife, Rita V. Goguen (1925-2005), were living at 81 Myrtle Ave. in Fitchburg, Ed worked as a photographer for the General Electric Co. on Boulder Drive in the city. After moving to Endwell. Ed worked many years for IBM at its facility in Endicott, NY before he retired. Ed was very much involved in chess in upstate New York, running tournaments and coaching numerous chess teams. He played at the Binghamton Chess Club, among others. He was a life member of the U.S. Chess Federation (ID number 10129567). Ed visited his old stomping grounds, the Wachusett CC, on several occasions when he was in the Fitchburg area. His last visit to the club was on July 24, 2013, when he played the 5th and final round in the Harlow B. Daly Memorial, drawing Bob Mathieu of Ashburnham. An earlier visit by Ed took place on March 22, 2006, when round 4 of the Dr. Max Levinger Memorial was played and Ed stuck around as a spectator. The Wachusett CC mourns the loss of one of its founding members.
-George M

August 22nd, 2017

FM Carissa Yip ties for 1st in 2017 U.S. Cadet Championship

FIDE master Carissa Yip, Wachusett Chess Club champion in 2014, tied for first place in the 2017 U.S. Cadet Championship, held Aug. 17-21 at the Homewood Suites by Hilton at the Manchester Airport in Manchester, NH. The 13-year-old FM from Andover, MA scored 6-3 (five wins, two draws, two losses) in a 10-player round-robin field to share top honors with 15-year-old FM Ben Li of Michigan, who chalked up four wins, four draws, one loss. Yip and Li played to a draw in their individual encounter. Carissa's rating now stands at 2367, 16 points short of her all-time high of 2383, which she reached after competing in this year's 45th World Open in Philadelphia. Ben reached a new all-time high rating of 2426 as a result of his performance in this year's U.S. Cadet Championship.
-George M

The 2017 US Cadet Championship is being held in Manchester, NH this year under the auspices of Relyea Chess. Carissa Yip, 2014 WCC Champ currently is tied for the lead with 3.5 after the first five rounds of the nine round National Level event.

♙ The club welcomed three visitors: Steve Courtemanche and his wife Linda from King of Prussia, PA, and Don Ostrowski of Fitchburg. Steve, a graduate of St. Bernard's High School in Fitchburg and a member of the Wachusett CC from the mid-1970s to 1984, is a health physicist with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Don, formerly of Reading, PA, is a former member of the chess club there and currently secretary of the Fitchburg Historical Commission.

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 3 on August 23rd.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

Joe Bennett sole Wachusett CC player as prize winner in Continental Open

Joe Bennett, the 29-year-old Class A player and Wachusett Chess Club member from Hubbardston, Mass., was the sole prize winner among Wachusett CC players competing in the 47th Continental Open, Aug. 10-13, at the Host Hotel at Cedar Lake in Sturbridge, Mass. Bennett, competing in the Under 1900 section of the 7-section, record-breaking 352-player tournament, posted a score of 4.5-1.5 to tie for the 5th prize in the section. Had he won his final-round game, instead of drawing, Bennett would have tied for 1st-4th place and won a huge share of the combined top prizes in the section.

The Continental Chess Association-sponsored event was organized by the country's top chess organizer, Bill Goichberg, who has been running tournaments for more than a half-century. He was assisted by Bob Messenger, a national TD who was the chief director of the 2011 Wachusett CC Championship, and Harold Stenzel, an international arbiter who had a Wachusett CC tournament named after him in 2012: the Harold G. Stenzel 60-Year Tribute.
-George M

Hello All,
Here is a link to last week's last-round game of the Harlow B. Daly Memorial tournament. I played against Ken Gurge (1793) in a Semi-Slav opening. Hope you like it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_0rGgiCulY
Roger

The 2017 IM John A. Grefe Memorial tournament starts Wednesday, August 9, at the Wachusett Chess Club at Fitchburg State University. Those wishing to play round 1 on that date must be present by 7 p.m. in Room C159 of the McKay Complex, 67 Rindge Road, Fitchburg, in order to be paired. The following ratings for players will be in effect for this event:

Hey!
In the final round of the most recent Wachusett Chess Club tournament, I played against NM Rob King.
[Here is the video, board one, last round of five, top two highest rated players in the club, & some crazy opening shenanigans, What's not to like?] Kildahl - King August 2017
[Also see Brett's latest engame video:] Basic Endgames: QvP7
Thanks!
Brett
[See this & all of Brett's other videos at Brett's YouTube Channel].

After winning three big upsets in his first four games of the Harlow B. Daly tournament, Vince Premus did himself one better by defeating 1789 rated, Gary Brassard, this Wednesday in a sharp double edged battle playing black against Gary's reliable London System, Queen's Pawn Opening. Vince thereby finished the five round tournament with 4 wins consisting of 4 upsets ranging from 358 to 635 rating points & placing him in a tie for first place alongside Rob King, Brett Kildahl & Paul Godin, while only giving up a single loss to 1966 rated, Roger Cappallo.

All three of Vince's co-winners are currently rated over 2000 USCF while Premus entered the tournament with a class D rating of just 1392. Vince may be the lowest rated player ever to win or tie for first place in a regular USCF rated WCC tournament. As a result of his outstanding performance, Vince will add a whopping 259 points to his own rating, effectively skipping class C altogether & moving to class B with his new USCF rating of 1651, which of course is his new all time high also.

REMINDER: The next tournament at the club, the IM John A. Grefe Memorial, begins Wednesday, August 9th. ♔ ♕ Players must be present in Room C159 of the McKay Complex by 7 p.m. ♕ ♔
[NOTE: change of time]
in order to be paired for Round 1.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 p.m.

Hey!
My eighth video [Basic Endgames: Two Pawns ] is up, and you can find it and the others on my YouTube channel, which is easy to get to by bringing up YouTube and typing Brett Kildahl into the search bar.
I won't be sending out anymore mass emails, so if you want to be aware of future videos, check my channel occasionally or watch for Paul's updates on the WCC website.
[Kildahl - Cappallo July 2017 Posted July 30, 2017]
Thanks!
Brett
See this & all of Brett's other videos at Brett's YouTube Channel.

July 26th, 2017

2017 Harlow B. Daly Memorial
Round 4 of 5

Vince Premus scores third upset in four rounds

Vince Premus, with a class D rating of 1398, achieved yet another major upset in this Wednesday's fourth round of the Harlow B. daly Memorial Tournament. Having beaten Dave Couture, & Ray Paulson in rounds 1 & 2, thus scoring upsets of 358 & 635 points respectively, Vince took a bit of a breather when he lost a close game to his round 3 opponent, 1968 rated, Roger Cappallo. Then last night he got back on track by beating 1900 rated, George Mirijanian, scoring an upset of 508 points.

For the final round of the tournament, Vince is projected to play another strong opponent, Gary Brassard, who is currently rated 1789. Even a draw in this game would constitute an upset, since Gary is a 391 rating point favorite. Whether this pairing actually comes to pass, & regardless of the outcome of his round 5 game, Vince Premus is having a great tournament & is not likely to remain in class D for long.

"The Chess Player" to be performed by FSU professor at Fitchburg Library

"The Chess Player," a one-man play written by Fitchburg State University theater professor Richard McElvain, will be performed Saturday, July 22, at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Fitchburg Public Library, 610 Main St., Fitchburg. Admission is free and open to the public. Access to the library's auditorium is through the Fitchburg Youth Library entrance on Newton Place, just off Main Street. Free parking is available behind the library and across the street. Professor McElvain will perform in this play, which was inspired by the 1941 classic novella of Austrian writer Stefan Zweig. Members of the Wachusett Chess Club at Fitchburg State University are expected to attend the performance.
-George M

♔ The club also welcomed back - after an absence of 57 years (!) - Frank Hacker of Fort Myers, FL,
who won the 1st official Wachusett Chess Club championship in 1960.
Frank visited the club and had his picture taken along with 7 other club champions.
The 8 are each listed with year(s) of their championships:
Rob King (2011), Bruce Felton (2004, 2005), Paul Godin (1967), Roger Cappallo (2016), Larry Gladding (1992, 1998, 2009), George Mirijanian (17 times between 1977 and 2015), Ray Paulson (2016, 2017), Frank Hacker (1960).

Hi guys,
I made another video. It's much shorter this time, and the board sounds are softer, but for some reason the webcam footage came out darker.
Here's an attempt at a shorter video, check it out if you feel like it:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UxeYYXGWFwI
What do you think?
-Brett

With a USCF rating of 2368, WFM Carissa is the top seed in the Girls' Section. Having recently logged a plus score of 5/9 at the 2017 World Open in the Open Section competing with dozens of titled players, she is expected to be in top form for this tournament.
Mika Brattain, with a USCF rating 2486, a recent #2 finish at the 2017 Columbus Open in Ohio 1/2 point behind GM Pavel Blatney, & a regular top competitor in New England tournaments is expected to have a steeper climb at the US Junior as the #8 seed. We wish them both the best.

Hello Everyone,
The link below is to my youtube video of my last round game against Ray Paulson. It was an exciting game, but ended in a draw, which allowed Ray to win the 2017 Club Championship with 6.5/7. I'd like to extend my hearty congratulations to Ray on his achievement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzPXD1aT9rc
Cheers,
Roger
See this & all of
Roger Cappallo's other videos at Roger's YouTube Channel

July 4th, 2017

Ratings in effect the 2017 Harlow B. Daly Memorial tournament

The 2017 Harlow B. Daly Memorial tournament starts Wednesday, July 5, at the Wachusett Chess Club at Fitchburg State University. Those wishing to play round 1 on that date must be present by 7 p.m. in Room C159 of the McKay Complex, 67 Rindge Road, Fitchburg, in order to be paired. The following ratings for players will be in effect for this event:

Ray Paulson, USCF rated expert from Lowell, won clear first place with a convincing undefeated 6.5/7 score in the 2017 WCC Championship. This marks Ray's second WCC Championship title in a row, having finished equal first with Roger Cappallo in the 2016 event. It was a watershed event for Ray both in terms of his competition & recent his performance.

Having been the unfortunate victim of several large upsets at the Billerica CC, where he also regularly competes, at the hands of significantly lower rated players, combined with a somewhat front loaded schedule in this tournament. He faced his highest rated & probably strongest opponent of the group, Brett Kildahl, in round 1 & managed to come away with the full point. Ray then expanded his win streak by defeating Paul Godin, Mike Commisso, Ken Gurge, Gary Brassard, & Alex Venezia, only to yield a single draw to his 2016 WCC co-champ, Roger Cappallo, in the final round. This put Ray at an untouchable 6.5, half a point ahead of his nearest competitor, Brett Kildahl, & a point & a half ahead of Cappallo.

The tournamnet was slightly marred by the early withdrawal of Paul Godin after only four rounds & the later withdrawal of Gary Brassard with two unplayed games. However since Ray had already won his games against each of these players, nothing that might otherwise have happened would have changed the final outcome.

REMINDER: The next tournament at the club, the Harlow B. Daly Memorial, begins Wednesday, July 5th.
Players must be present in Room C159 by 7:10 p.m. in order to be paired for Round 1.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 p.m.

Some players play for money prizes and other play for rating points, but Paul Godin proved once again that he's in the game "for the chicken," i.e. the barbecue chicken dinner top prize that was awarded at the non-rated, four-round quick Swiss on Sunday, June 25, at the Finnish Center at Saima Park in Fitchburg. The 1967 Wachusett CC champion swept the 10-player field with a perfect 4-0 score - a score he also posted last year when he won the event that is part of the Finnish Center's Summer Festival each year, known in Finnish as "Kesajuhla." Tying as runners-up with 3-1 scores were 2016 club co-champion Roger Cappallo and inactive club player Dave Thomas.
-George M

Larry Eldridge, one of this country's most accomplished chess teachers, died on Sunday, June 18th, at his home in West Newton, Mass. He was 84. Eldridge, a longtime active player who competed in tournaments at the Metrowest Chess Club in Natick and the Boylston Chess Club in North Cambridge, among others, was noted as a skillful chess coach who mentored many winning teams for years at the Hurvitz Cup, the Massachusetts Scholastic Team Championships, sponsored by the Massachusetts Chess Association (MACA). He was also a chess journalist who wrote many chess stories for the Christian Science Monitor, of which he was once the sports editor. He played a key role in getting the late GM Arthur Bisguier to become a chess columnist for the Monitor. Eldridge was also very generous with his huge chess library, donating many books and magazines over the years to MACA to sell at its fundraising auctions.
The funeral for Larry Eldridge will be held 11 a.m. Friday, June 23rd, in the Newton Cemetery Chapel, 791 Walnut St., Newton Centre, MA 02459. Following burial, a lunch/repast will be held at 36 Wedgewood Road, West Newton. Family and chess friends are welcome to attend.
-George M

June 21st, 2017

Finnish Center at Saima Park to Host Fun Chess Tournament

The Finnish Center at Saima Park, Scott Road in Fitchburg, off Ashby State Road (Route 31), will host on Sunday, June 25th, as part of its Summer Festival (Kesajuhla), a fun chess tournament in its function hall. The non-rated event will be a 4-round Swiss in one section. Time control is Game/15, with a 5-second delay (on digital clocks). The tournament honors the memory of two-time Wachusett Chess Club champion Evert Siiskonen (1963 and 1966), a Finnish-born Fitchburg resident who is memorialized with a stone chess table at Saima Park. Registration for the tournament is from 9:30 to 10 a.m., with Round 1 starting shortly thereafter. The tourney will end by 12:30 p.m.. There is no entry fee. Top prize will be a succulent chicken barbecue dinner, compliments of Lorna Sulin of the Finnish Center. Other prizes will be awarded to all participants. For a complete schedule of activities at the Summer Festival, visit www.saima-park.org
-George M

Four very active members of the Wachusett Chess Club and five inactive members of the Wachusett CC were among the participants in the tournament, "In Memory of IM Dr. Danny Kopec," held Saturday, June 10th, at Congregation Ahavas Achim in Keene, NH. The WCC contingent represented 20 percent of the total field of 43 players in three sections. Class A-rated players Vince Bradley III and Dave Kochman, inactive club members, competed in the Master-Expert section, which was won by GM Alexander Ivanov of Newton, MA with a score of 3.5-0.5. Semi-active club member Joe Bennett of Hubbardston also tallied 3.5-0.5 to tie for 1st-2nd place in the Under 1900 section. Also playing in that section were active club members Gary Brassard of Leominster, Dave Couture of Westminster, Mike Commisso of Brookline, NH, and Jim Hankard of Antrim, NH, as well as inactive club members Eric Strickland of Brattleboro, VT and Francois Gauthier of Francistown, NH. The tournament, directed by Hal Terrie of Manchester, NH, honored the memory of IM Danny Kopec. who died on June 12, 2016 at age 62. Kopec had played in the 1970s and '80s in the Central New Open tournaments held in Fitchburg and Leominster.
-George M

June 9th, 2017

Former Wachusett CC champions finish high in standings in Waltham CC tourney

Two former Wachusett CC champions finished high in the standings in the Waltham June G/15 tournament held Friday night, June 9th, at the Waltham Chess Club. Rob King of Framingham, club champion in 2011, scored 4-1 to take clear second place, while Carissa Yip of Andover, club champion in 2014, tallied 3-2 to finish in a seven-way tie for 3rd place. The winner of the tournament with a perfect 5-0 result was IM Denys Shmelov of Newton, formerly of Pepperell. King lost to Shmelov in round 3, while Yip suffered losses to Shmelov and King in rounds 4 and 5, respectively. The quick-rated event drew 19 players.
-George M

♗ Requesting a half-point bye for Round 5 is McNeilage.
♙ The Wachusett Chess Club welcomes Dave Martin (12877246) of Boylston, 2nd Category rated 1657. His all-time high rating is 1844.
Dave's last appearance at the WCC was on March 23, 2016 in the Wachusett CC Blitz Championship. Dave is a regular player at the Metrowest CC in Natick. He just recently won the U1700 section of the MCC 34th Anniversary Swiss on May 30th.

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 5 on June 14th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

Ex-Wachusett CC champion Rob King now co-champion of the Metrowest CC.

Rob King, champion of the Wachusett Chess Club in 2011, is now 2017 co-champion of the Metrowest Chess Club in Natick. The 33-year-old player from Framingham shared top honors with master Sherif Khater in this year's MCC championship by drawing him in the 5th and final round of the event on Tuesday night, May 30th. Both scored 3.5-1.5. Among those whom King defeated in the six-player round robin was master Lawyer Times, who the day before (May 29th) had defeated GM Alexander Ivanov in the final round of the 86th Massachusetts Open in Marlborough, winning the event and becoming the new state champion.
-George M

Joe Bennett, a once-active member of the Wachusett Chess Club (whose last appearance at the club was at the Rocco Pasquale Memorial in October 2016), captured first place in the Under 1800 section of the 86th Massachusetts Open, held May 27-29 at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough. The Hubbardston player scored 5.5.-0.5 in a 46-player field, the largest section in the four-section, three-day main event, and gained more than 100 rating points, bringing his current rating to 1804.
-George M

May 30th, 2017

Bob Messenger awarded NTD title by U.S. Chess Federation.

Bob Messenger, chief tournament director of the 2011 Wachusett Chess Club Championship, has been awarded the National Tournament Director title by the U.S. Chess Federation. The Nashua, NH resident, who is viewed by many players as New England's premier TD, received the award recently from the USCF for his more than 25 years of directing tournaments throughout the country and primarily on the East Coast. Since directing his first tournament, the Fall Foliage Festival, for the Massachusetts Chess Association on Nov. 3, 1991 in Andover, Mass., Messenger has been chief TD of 460 tournaments and has directed 2,648 sections and worked at 79 other events - for a total of 2,799 sections. Messenger's directing of the 2011 Wachusett CC Championship involved overseeing a 10-player round-robin "A" Division and a 20-player, 9-round Swiss "B" Division.
-George M

Rob King, champion of the Wachusett Chess Club in 2011, is currently tied for first place in the 2017 Metrowest Chess Club Championship in Natick. King defeated expert Alan Song in round 4 of the six-player round robin on Tuesday night, May 23, while master Sherif Khater upset top-rated IM David Vigorito in the same round. Both King and Khater stand at 3-1 and will face each other in the 5th and final round on May 30 in a game that will determine who the new Metrowest CC champion will be.
-George M

Diego Ubiera, one of the Wachusett Chess Club's highest-rated players, made his debut Friday night, May 19, at the Waltham Chess Club, where he finished as runner-up in the Waltham May Game/5 tournament. Diego scored 7-3 and faced five opponents in the 13-player event, winning two games each against three of them, drawing two games against one other, but losing two games to the ultimate tournament winner, master Sherif Khater, who tallied 10-0.
-George M

Round 1 of the 2017 WCC B Championship will be played Wednesday, May 17, in Room C159 in the McKay Complex at Fitchburg State University. Players must be present by 7:10 p.m. in order to be paired for Round 1. Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 p.m. Players who know they won't be there and wish to receive a half-point bye, please let Larry Gladding (lgladding@msn.com) and me (miriling2@aol.com) know by 7 p.m.
-George M

Wednesday, May 17 will be the start of the Wachusett CC Championship, an 8-player round robin,
with the following players who qualified to compete for the 2017 club crown:
Brett Kildahl, Paul Godin, Ray Paulson, Roger Cappallo,
Gary Brassard, Ken Gurge, Alex Venezia, & Mike Commisso.

In keeping with a long standing tradition of the Wachusett Chess Club, dating back to the Summer of 2014,
duplicate score sheets will be distributed to all players in the Championship Section. A copy of each player's score sheet must be handed in at the end of each round.
(Note: This is covered in Rule 15G of the USCF Official Rules of Chess.)
Game scores will not be posted (in the Games Section) until all championship games are completed.

REMINDER: The 2017 Wachusett CC Championship starts Wednesday, May 17th.
Held in two sections:
An 8-player single round robin for qualifiers ("A" Division) and a 7-round Swiss for non-qualifiers ("B" Division).
Players must be present by 7:10 p.m. in order to be paired for Round 1.
Players running late who wish to be pared MUST CALL by 7 p.m.
Clocks for players in the "A" Division will automatically be started at 7:15 p.m.,
regardless of whether the players are present by 7:10 p.m. or not.

For more information, contact Anne Bisbee, operations manager (anne@fatv.org), or Glenn C. Fossa, executive director at 978-343-0834. http://www.fatv.org
It would be great to see a big turnout from the club members!
-David Couture

May 5th, 2017

Wachusett CC's Brett Kildahl wins Absolutely Awesome April Swiss

Brett Kildahl, one of the Wachusett Chess Club's highest-rated players, scored another victory in his chess career by scoring 4-0 to win the Absolutely Awesome April Swiss tournament, held Thursday nights, April 6-27, at the Greater Worcester Chess Club at the Hibernian Cultural Center in Worcester. Kildahl paved the way to victory by defeating Class B player Donna Alarie, expert Mike Odell, Class A entrant Muharrem Brahimaj and FM John Curdo respectively in the 8-player event. He finished 1.5 points ahead of his closest rival, Odell, who took clear 2nd place. The other players he beat all tallied 2-2 and tied for 3rd place.
-George M

[WCC member, Ralph McNeilage also played in the event.]

May 4th, 2017

2017 Club Championship Qualification Standings

One game to go, 3 still vie for spot

2017 Club Championship Qualification Standings as of May 4th, 2017
After 43 of 44 games completed in the 2016-2017 season, the following are the current standings for qualification for the
2017 WCC 'A' Club Championship Tournament. The Top Eight Highest GPP Finishers Qualify.
The tiebreaker, if necessary, is the higher USCF rating
(Only players currently with more than 20.5 GPP are listed.) after the final regular season tournament is rated!
A minimum of 22 games must be completed to qualify.
For comparison to last year, the percentage is calculated in the last column.

Carissa Yip, champion of the Wachusett Chess Club in 2014, was among the prize winners in the 26th Eastern Class Championships, held April 28-30 at the Host Hotel at Cedar Lake in Sturbridge, Mass. The 13-year-old Woman FIDE master from Andover tallied 3-2 (two wins, two draws, one loss) to tie for 4th place in the 22-player Master section of the 278-player tournament. In addition to sharing 4th-place prize money, Carissa also cashed in on 2nd-place prize money in the Mixed Doubles competition, where she and Class A section 1st-place prize winner Anton Barash (5-0) teamed up and scored 8 points out of 10. Carissa's total prize winnings exceeded that of three GMs with whom she tied for 4th place in the Master section. They included Georgian GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (2663) and GM Irina Krush (2513), both of New York, and Israeli GM Gil Popilski (2633) of Texas.
-George M

With only two games remaining in the 2016-2017 season, the race to qualify for the WCC Championship is still too close to call. The top six players in the Grand Prix race will definitely qualify, however there remains considerable uncertainty as to just who will fill those last two slots. Since both Mike Commisso & Jim Donahue currently have 21 GPP, Reigning co-champ, Roger Cappallo needs another half point out of his next two games to be sure of a spot. If Larry Gladding can acquire half a point more than the Commisso/Donahue duo, then Larry could match their score & thereby qualify by virtue of his higher USCF rating, which would break the tie. Dave Couture could make it onto the list if he wins both of his remaining two games AND Commisso Donahue & Gladding lose (Byes count as zero GPP.) both of their remaining games.

Of no small interest to competitors who qualify for the Championship is the surprising list of players who will not qualify this year (unless someone drops out at the last minute). By opting to take a bye in round 2 of the Martin Laine Memorial tournament this week, both 17-Time WCC Champion, George Mirijanian, & strong Class A player, Diego Ubiera of Fitchburg, (with a season winning precentage of .841, second only to Candidate Master, Brett Kildahl) will be unable to qualify regardless of results in the remaining two games. Also noteworthy is relative newcomer & strong competitor, Ralph McNeilage, of Worcester, whose loss to Geoff LePoer this Wednesday leaves him with only 18.5 GPP & not enough games remaining to reach the top 8.

2017 Club Championship Qualification Standings as of April 27th, 2017
After 42 of 44 games completed in the 2016-2017 season, the following are the current standings for qualification for the
2017 WCC 'A' Club Championship Tournament. The Top Eight Highest GPP Finishers Qualify.
The tiebreaker, if necessary, is the higher USCF rating
(Only players currently with more than 18 GPP are listed. *) after the final regular season tournament is rated!
A minimum of 22 games must be completed to qualify.
For comparison to last year, the percentage is calculated in the last column.

2017 Club Championship Qualification Standings as of April 20th, 2017
After 41 of 44 games completed in the 2016-2017 season, the following are the current standings for qualification for the
2017 WCC 'A' Club Championship Tournament. The Top Eight Highest GPP Finishers Qualify.
The tiebreaker, if necessary, is the higher USCF rating
(Only players currently with 17 or more GPP are listed. *) after the final regular season tournament is rated!
A minimum of 22 games must be completed to qualify.
For comparison to last year, the percentage is calculated in the last column.

Round 1 of the Martin Laine Memorial will be played Wednesday, April 19, in Room C159 in the McKay Complex at Fitchburg State University. Players must be present by 7:10 p.m. in order to be paired for Round 1. Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 p.m. Players who know they won't be there and wish to receive a half-point bye, please let Larry Gladding (lgladding@msn.com) and me (miriling2@aol.com) know by 7 p.m.
-George M

♔ Boris Spassky 2016 interview
This interview was conducted by Yuri Golyshak and Sergei Kruzhkov for their column Friday Talk in the Sport-Express newspaper in early 2016.

♖ Nashoba Jr. Chess Club
[I couldn't resist this one! Dr. Imre Toth is one of the most outstanding & respected chess competitors in NEw England from back in the good old days when all chess clocks were analog & Bobby Fischer was still a kid.]
"Dr. Imre Toth, our resident Master of Postal Chess, teaches game fundamentals prior to each session. New players are treated to hands-on instruction at the Beginners' Table. Following instruction, the games begin!"
"Chess makes you smart and good looking." -Dr. Toth

April 13th, 2017

2017 Club Championship Qualification Standings

2017 Club Championship Qualification Standings as of April 13th, 2017
After 40 of 44 games completed in the 2016-2017 season, the following are the current standings for qualification for the
2017 WCC 'A' Club Championship Tournament. The Top Eight Highest GPP Finishers Qualify.
The tiebreaker, if necessary, is the higher USCF rating
(Only players currently with 16 or more GPP are listed. *) after the final regular season tournament is rated!
A minimum of 22 games must be completed to qualify.
For comparison to last year, the percentage is calculated in the last column.

Seed #

Name

USCF Rating

Games Played This Season

Additional Games Needed

Grand Prix Points

Pct.

1.

Brett Kildahl

2144

34

0

29.5

.868

2.

Paul Godin

1967

38

0

28.5

.750

3.

Gary Brassard

1813

39

0

25.5

.654

4.

Ray Paulson

2033

31

0

24.0

.774

5.

Alexander Venezia

1712

39

0

23.0

.590

6.

Ken Gurge

1763

39

0

22.0

.564

7.

Roger Cappallo

1965

30

0

21.0

.677

8.

Mike Commisso

1685

39

0

20.0

.513

9.

Jim Donahue

1654

35

0

20.0

.571

10.

Larry Gladding

1879

27

0

19.0

.704

11.

Dave Couture

1730

31

0

18.0

.581

* 12.

George Mirijanian

1920

24

0

17.5

.729

* 13.

Diego Ubiera

1917

21

1

17.5

.833

* 14.

Ralph McNeilage

1714

28

0

17.5

.625

* 15.

Jim Hankard

1607

36

0

17.5

.486

* 16.

Ed Harris

1744

30

0

16.5

.550

* Note: If Roger Cappallo acquires one more GPP {almost crtain}, AND either Mike Commisso or Jim Donahue can accumulate at least 2 more GPP in the remaining 4 games (i.e. a .500 pct. {highly likely}), then no one currently with fewer than 18 GPP will be able to qualify.

2011 Wachusett CC Champ, Robert King, of Framingham, not only topped the field in the 2017 Evert Siiskonen Memorial tournament with a solid 4.5/5 score, but in doing so raised his USCF rating to his new personal all time high of 2201, which qualifies him for the title of USCF National Life Master (norm achievements pending).

REMINDER: The next tournament at the club, the Martin Laine Memorial, will begin Wednesday, April 19th.
Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 1 on April 19th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

On Saturday, April 8th, the Mascenic Chess Club traveled to Pelham to compete in the NH State Team Chess Championships. They played 4 rounds with our top four players battling against the top four players from other schools around southern New Hampshire. Mascenic entered three teams in three separate divisions, High School (grades 10-12), Junior High (grades 7-9) and Elementary (Grades 4-6).

The Elementary team placed 5th and the High School team placed 4th in their respective divisions. The Junior High team won its first three matches, and needed a draw or a win in their last match to secure 1st place. On the top two boards, Noah Rogers and Sebastian Tilton struggled with difficult positions against the Academy for Science and Design, and it looked like they would have to settle for 2nd place again this year. On boards three and four, however, Finn Rogers and Owen Hannah were slowly but surely grinding out winning positions, securing the draw for the team that ultimately earned them the 1st place trophy.

The junior high team collectively won twelve out of their sixteen games, beating out 2nd place World Academy and 3rd place Academy for Science and Design. Special recognition went to Finn Rogers for best performance on board three, winning all four of his games.
Congratulations to our NH State Champs & kudos to Boynton Middle School Chess Club Coach, Ed Rogers!
-Mascenic News

GM Arthur Bisguier, one of America's greatest chess players of the 20th century, died on Wednesday at the age of 87 while in a care facility in Framingham, Massachusetts. The cause of death was respiratory failure.
Arthur Bernard Bisguier was born in the Bronx on October 8, 1929. He was awarded the IM title in 1950 and the GM title in 1957.
He was one of the dominant tournament players in America in the 1950s. After winning several U.S. junior titles in the late 1940s, Bisguier became U.S. champion in 1954 and U.S. Open champion in 1950, 1956 and 1959. He won the Manhattan Chess Club Championship in 1948, 1949, 1957-58, 1958-59, 1967-68, and 1968-69.
He may have won even more, but served in the U.S. Army from 1951-1953.
In 2005, he was awarded the honorific "Dean of American Chess" by US Chess, supplanting GM Arnold Denker, who had passed away that same year. Bisguier held the status until his death. He was the oldest of 20 living U.S. chess champions, but not the oldest living American grandmaster (GM Pal Benko was born one year earlier).
GM Bisguier had been a regular active member of the Metrowest Chess Club in Natick MA until recently.
For more coverage, visit: https://www.chess.com/news/view/gm-arthur-bisguier-1929-2017-9997
The Wachusett Chess Club celebrated Bisguier's 80th birthday in October-November 2009 with an Arthur Bisguier Octogenarian Tribute tournament. He also is known to have played in one or more of the WCC sponsored Central New England Open tournaments held from 1961 to 1986.

April 6th, 2017

2017 Club Championship Qualification Standings

2017 Club Championship Qualification Standings as of April 6th, 2017
After 39 of 44 games completed in the 2016-2017 season, the following are the current standings for qualification for the
2017 WCC 'A' Club Championship Tournament. The Top Eight Highest GPP Finishers Qualify.
The tiebreaker, if necessary, is the higher USCF rating
(Only players currently with 15 or more GPP are listed.) after the final regular season tournament is rated!
A minimum of 22 games must be completed to qualify.
For comparison to last year, the percentage is calculated in the last column.

♗ Receiving a half-point bye for Round 4 is Su.
♝ Burke, R. McLaughlin and Kiser are not playing round 4.
♙ The Wachusett Chess Club welcomes Roland Booker, of Fitchburg. Roland is a Second Category player with an all-time high rating for of 1895, which was his rating was when he played on Board 5 for the Wachusett CC in their match against the Framingham Chess Club on April 2, 1985 at the American Legion in Framingham.

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 4 on April 5th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

2017 Club Championship Qualification Standings as of March 24th, 2017
After 37 of 44 games completed in the 2016-2017 season, the following are the current standings for qualification for the
2017 WCC 'A' Club Championship Tournament. The Top Eight Highest GPP Finishers Qualify.
The tiebreaker, if necessary, is the higher USCF rating
(Only players currently with 12.5 or more GPP are listed.) after the final regular season tournament is rated!
A minimum of 22 games must be completed to qualify.
For comparison to last year, the percentage is calculated in the last column.

2017 Club Championship Qualification Standings as of March 16th, 2017
After 36 of 44 games completed in the 2016-2017 season, the following are the current standings for qualification for the
2017 WCC 'A' Club Championship Tournament. The Top Eight Highest GPP Finishers Qualify.
The tiebreaker, if necessary, is the higher USCF rating
(Only players currently with 13 or more GPP are listed.) after the final regular season tournament is rated!
A minimum of 22 games must be completed to qualify.
For comparison to last year, the percentage is calculated in the last column.

♗ Bowers is not playing Round 2.
♙ The Wachusett Chess Club welcomes Walter Paton of Leominster
Walter is actually a former club member, who has not played close to 40 years:
The USCF dug up his old rating of 1534 which, for all intents and purposes, is his all time high.

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 2 on March 22nd.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

Round 1 of the Evert Siiskonen Memorial will be played Wednesday, March 15, in Room C159 in the McKay Complex at Fitchburg State University. The parking lot will be cleared of snow. Players must be present by 7:10 p.m. in order to be paired for Round 1. Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 p.m. Players who know they won't be there and wish to receive a half-point bye, please let Larry Gladding (lgladding@msn.com) and me (miriling2@aol.com) know by 7 p.m.
-George M

Duncan Premus, a member of the Wachusett Chess Club, posted a perfect score of 4-0 to win first place in the Intermediate section of the Pelham High Scholastic tournament, held on Saturday, March 11, in the library of Pelham High School in Pelham, NH. The victory netted Duncan 160 rating points in the 15-player section. Other Wachusett CC players competing in the 18-player Open section of the event were Finn Rogers, who scored 3-1 to tie for 2nd-5th place, gaining 104 rating points, and Sebastian Tilton, who tallied 2-2 to tie for 8th-12th place, adding 15 points to his rating. The tourney drew a total of 53 players.
-George M

March 10th, 2017

2017 Club Championship Qualification Standings

2017 Club Championship Qualification Standings as of March 9th, 2017
After 35 of 44 games completed in the 2016-2017 season, the following are the current standings for qualification for the
2017 WCC 'A' Club Championship Tournament. The Top Eight Highest GPP Finishers Qualify.
The tiebreaker, if necessary, is the higher USCF rating
(Only players currently with 15 or more GPP are listed.) after the final regular season tournament is rated!
A minimum of 22 games must be completed to qualify.
For comparison to last year, the percentage is calculated in the last column.

REMINDER: The next tournament at the club, the Evert Siiskonen Memorial, will start Wednesday, March 15, in Room C159 [NOTE: new playing room] in the McLay Complex at Fitchburg State University.
Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 1 on March 15th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

Mike Meehan, one of the Wachusett Chess Club's most active players, was among the prize winners in the 4th Queen City Tornado, held Saturday, March 4, at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, NH. Meehan, playing in the Under 1800 section, scored 3.5-0.5 to tie for 1st-3rd place with New Hampshire players Pascal Bakker and Sai Sneha Yerra. Meehan gained 61 rating points to boost his USCF rating to 1705. Other Wachusett CC players competing in the U1800 section were Mike Commisso, who tallied 2.5-1.5, and Jim Hankard, who finished at 2-2. Hal Terrie, assisted by John Elmore, directed the 60-player event for the sponsoring New Hampshire Chess Association.
-George M

The 2017 World Amateur Team & U.S. Amateur Team East Championship, held Feb. 18-20 in Parsippany, NJ, had a number of players from Massachusetts participating in the 306-team event. Among them were three players who have played at the Wachusett Chess Club, including two who are former club champions. Wachusett CC players are listed in boldface. The following were the top Mass. scorers in the event: Robert King (2189) - 6 points FM Chris Chase (2399) - 5.5
David Xie (1841) - 5
IM Denys Shmelov (2505) - 4.5
IM David Vigorito (2451) - 4.5 WFM Carissa Yip (2370) - 4.5
WFM Roza Eynula (2167) - 4.5
Todd Chase (2080) - 4.5
Alex Yu (2038) - 4.5
Samuel Korsky (1723P10) - 4.5
Mark Butler (1630) - 4.5
[Other MA players at the tournament scored 4.0 or less.]
-George M

Hi All,
I was experimenting with the new Chessbase 14 and I've published 2 of my best games [wins against Fritz Gaspard (2079) & NM Lawyer Times (2248)] from the recent World Amateur Team East tournament. You can see the games here: http://www.viewchess.com/cbreader/2017/2/22/Game98684671.html
There is a dropdown menu above the board to see the two games...
Take care,
Rob

Hello All,
Well, in a drastic departure from normal, I've managed to produce the video for last night's game against Dave Couture. Perhaps I was eager to get a slight
sense of guilt over the rules infraction off my chest.
Hope you like it. https://youtu.be/dWXXOpYwbOU
-Roger
See this & all of
Roger Cappallo's other videos at Roger's YouTube Channel

What if you were the geeky son of the most evil man in the world? Talk about the ultimate dysfunctional father-son relationship! In this light comic novel, the hapless son of Adolf Hitler tries hard to please Big Daddy and become the racist ideal he was born to be, but the forces of tolerance, kindness, and love keep getting in the way. The son's misadventures take him from Nazi cults in Germany to an assignment as a saboteur in America, where he passes himself off as a Greek olive merchant, has a romance with the enemy, and is exposed to New York values and 1940's jazz culture. A hilarious remedy for feelings of despair in dark times.

"A first-rate farce worthy of Mel Brooks. I could easily see this novel being made into a movie or a play. My only disappointments are that it was over too quickly and that I couldn't find any other titles by the author. Hopefully more will be coming in the future from this author!" -Dave Couture

Carissa Yip, along with two other strong local youngsters, Jason tang & Anton Barash, has organized a Fundraising Tournament at the Boylston Chess Club in Cambridge, MA.

The tournament, which will be held on Sunday, February 12, 2017, includes a four round [G/40, d5] swiss run by Andrew Hoy, and a blitz tournament afterwards. Registration: 9:15am - 9:45am Round Times: 10:00am, 12:30pm, 2:15pm, and 4:00pm
Lunch will be provided along with snacks. Side events will include bughouse and a chess puzzle solving contest. GM Larry Christiansen will be available to analyze games.

2/2/2017: In a curious case at Gibraltar Masters, women's world champion Hou Yifan resigned in a mere 5 moves (against GM Babu Lalith), breaking the record previously held by Viswanathan Anand for the quickest loss by a grandmaster. The 'scandal' occurred during the final round of the Masters tournament, known to be the best Open in the world.

2017 Club Championship Qualification Standings as of February 3rd, 2017
After 30 of 44 games completed in the 2016-2017 season, the following are the current standings for qualification for the
2017 WCC 'A' Club Championship Tournament. The Top Eight Highest GPP Finishers Qualify.
The tiebreaker, if necessary, is the higher USCF rating
(Only players currently with 10 or more GPP are listed.) after the final regular season tournament is rated!
A minimum of 22 games must be completed to qualify.
For comparison to last year, the percentage is calculated in the last column.

"I'll post the video [of Ken Gurge vs. Mike Meehan] later tonight after I get home. It's a wild one! In just the course of the video clip, it goes from a win for Mike (I'm pretty sure anyway), to a win for Ken (Kg3 rather than h4), to a draw..." -Dave Couture

REMINDER: The next tournament at the club, the George E. O'Rourke Memorial, will begin Wednesday, Feb. 8.
Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 1 on February 8th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

Ed Harris and Jim Hankard, two of the most active members of the Wachusett Chess Club, finished as runners-up in the 2nd Crazy Clock Open, held Mondays, Jan. 9-30, at the Knights Chess Club in Keene, NH. The WCC duo shared 2nd-4th place honors with expert Christopher Wood, co-champion of the Knights CC in 2016, by scoring 3-1 in a field of 18 players. Winning the tournament with a 3.5-0.5 tally was Class A participant Dave Kochman, whose last appearance at the Wachusett CC was the 2016 Reggie Boone Memorial, which he won with a score of 4.5-0.5.
-George M

January 29th, 2017

Wachusett CC's Joe Bennett wins prize in WN Winter Open

Joe Bennett, a member of the Wachusett Chess Club since he made his debut at the club in the Edmund N. Wheeler Memorial in October-November 2005, captured first place in the Under 1700 section of the WN 2017 Winter Open, held Sunday, Jan. 29, in West Newbury, MA. Bennett scored 3.5-0.5 in a section that drew 15 players. A total of 29 players competed in the two-section, one-day event.
-George M

January 25th, 2017

2017 Reggie Boone Memorial
Round 4 of 5

Godin sole leader after 4

After four rounds of the five round Reggie Boone Memorial tournament, USCF rated class A player, Paul Godin now leads the field with a perfect score of 4/4. The tournament, the first of the new year at the Wachusett CC, has already seen its share of surprises. While two of the WCC's top players both rated experts, Rob King & Ray Paulson chose to sit this tournament out, round one produced a pair of upset draws as class A rated George Mirijanian had to settle for a half point against his clabss B rated opponent, Tom Fratturelli & class B rated Dave Couture split the point with class D rated Don Briggs.

Round three narrowed the field a bit more as Gary Brassard, Roger Cappallo & Dave Couture each lost to Paul Godin, Geoff LePoer & Larry Gladding respectively.

LePoer, Gladding, & Cappallo all took byes in round four which left Paul Godin paired with Alex Venezia at board one. This game ended in a victory for Godin after only 20 moves. The round four play also included three major upsets as class D rated Randy McLaughlin found a win in some tricky complications against his class B rated opponent Ralph McNeilage, class C rated Brian Biglow beat class B rated Jackson Parker, & class E rated Emily Gawboy held on for a come from behind win after losing her queen for only two minor pieces to class D rated Hugh McLaughlin until eventually Hugh returned the favor by dropping his queen in a tactical skirmish.

The tournament winner(s) could still come from any of the top three boards next week, but the combination of two top players sitting out the tournament & a few significant upsets has created an unusual opportunity for some of the less likely contenders to shine.

Hans Berliner, a former world champion of correspondence chess who won one of the greatest games ever played on his way to the title, and who later helped develop game-playing computers, died on Friday in Riviera Beach, Fla. He was 87.

In the early '60s, inspired by the work of programming pioneers in artificial intelligence, Mr. Berliner, who was working at IBM at the time, began writing a program to play chess.
...
In spring 1985, the new computer, HiTech, made its debut. It quickly ascended to the rank of master and then to senior master, becoming the world's strongest chess computer. In 1988, it became the first computer to beat a grandmaster in a match, defeating Arnold Denker, 3.5 to 0.5, though Mr. Denker was well past his prime.
...
In 1937, amid the rise of Nazism, Mr. Berliner's family emigrated to Washington, D.C. He learned to play chess at 13 during a rainy day at summer camp.

He became a chess master at 20 and by 23 was good enough to be part of the United States team that played in Helsinki at the biennial Chess Olympiad.
...
"Sooner or later, the moment of truth comes where you put them all together and see what it does," he said. "And from the very beginning, I could see that it had the potential - maybe not every single time - it had the potential to play better than any device that existed."
-By Dylan Loeb McClain, NYT, January 16, 2017

Wachusett CC member Geoff LePoer interviewed the late Hans Berliner at CMU

Geoff LePoer, champion of the Wachusett Chess Club in 1999 and currently an active member of the club, has brought to light that he interviewed the late Hans Berliner, who directed the development of the chess computer HiTech when he was a professor of computer science at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. Berliner passed away in Riviera Beach, FL on Friday, Jan. 13, 2017 - two weeks before his 88th birthday. LePoer, a graduate of Carnegie-Mellon in 1987, had the opportunity of interviewing Berliner for a writing class he was enrolled in. Berliner granted the interview because LePoer identified himself as a chess player. That made the difference! In the mid-1980s Berliner directed the development of HiTech, which was the first computer to attain a rating over 2400 in 1985. Besides his contribution to computer chess, Berliner is also known as the winner of the 5th World Correspondence Chess World Championship (1965-1968) and a participant in several U.S. Chess Championships in the 1950s. He was also on the U.S. team that played in the 1952 Chess Olympiad in Helsinki, Finland.
-George M

Sorry folks - I am afraid there is no trace of that Interview. It was my junior year - would have been fall of 85. I think I had a copy in my portfolio when I graduated, but that was 30 years ago!! It was never published - which was negligence on my part. My professor asked me to submit it to our campus paper and I just never got around to it. Too bad - would be a nice piece of nostalgia to share it.
-Geoff LePoer

Geoff,
You were fortunate to be at Carnegie-Mellon during a period when HiTech was the dominant computer program in the country, possibly in the world. HiTech prevailed from September 1985 (the start of your junior year) until around July 1988, a little more than a year after you graduated. And the fact that you met Berliner and interviewed him will be something you will never forget. Carnegie-Mellon made its mark in computer chess while you were there.
-George M

What a lot of folks don't know - even chess players - is that HiTech was one of two chess programs developed at CMU (what we called it before a marketing effort dropped the University, added a hyphen and converted our identity to Carnegie-Mellon). Deep Thought was also developed there at the same time. They competed against each other and Deep Thought eventually surpassed HiTech.
My recollection is that HiTech was built on a series of processors that calculated all the moves by squares. There was a processor dedicated to each of the 64 squares. But DeepThought was more of an algorithm based program and analyzed more by piece moves - more along the lines of how humans played. Of course - analyzing it at thousands of times faster and deeper than any of us can.
DeepThought was already strong program when I met Hans - but it had a different name then. I can't remember what it was originally - but by time it passed HiTech it was called DeepThought.
[DeepThought most likely was originally named "ChipTest". -PG]
-Geoff LePoer

I remember Deep Thought, because it was the computer that played in the 1988 U.S.Open in Boston that I directed. I cannot forget when it was paired against Igor Ivanov (R, pictured here with Alexander Ivanov, L), who was in a state of intoxication, in round 9 and defeated Igor in 29 moves of a Scandinavian Defense (See game here). Igor dropped out of the tournament right after that.
Igor Ivanov was no stranger to chess aficionados in the Fitchburg-Leominster area. He played in the Central New England Opens more than 30 years ago.
-George M
[More details of this fascinating & somewhat local story may be found in: AI Magazine Volume 10 Number 2 (1989) -PG]

January 16th, 2017

Wachusett Chess Club players compete in Portsmouth Open

Four Wachusett CC players, all residents of New Hampshire, competed in the Portsmouth Open, held Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 14-15, at the Holiday Inn in Portsmouth, NH. Ed Harris of Marlboro, Jim Hankard of Antrim, Mike Commisso of Brookline and Francois Gauthier of Francistown took part in the Under 1750 section of the 40-player tournament.
Harris, Hankard and Commisso all scored 2.5-1.5, while Gauthier tallied 2-2. None of the players gained rating points or won prize money. Hankard drew Commisso in round 3, while Harris finished the tournament with three blacks in a row!
-George M

January 14th, 2017

Former Wachusett CC member Jon Edwards columnist for new American Chess Magazine

Jon R. Edwards, a member of the Wachusett Chess Club in the early 1970s, is now a columnist for the new American Chess Magazine, published by the Chess Informant. Edwards, who lived in West Acton, Mass. during the period in which he played at the Wachusett CC when it was situated at the Fitchburg YMCA, is a well-known correspondence chess player. He won the 10th U.S. Correspondence Chess Championship in 1997 and the 8th North American Invitational Chess Correspondence Championship in 1999. A Senior International Master in the International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF), the 63-year-old resident of New Jersey has written more than 20 books on chess. During his time at the Wachusett CC, he was greatly influenced by two-time (1973 & 1974) club champion Stephan Gerzadowicz, a noted correspondence player and author of several chess books. Edwards' column in the American Chess Magazine is titled "Chess Tech," In his first article, he introduces the readers to the wonders of ChessBase Account and plans in future columns to teach the intricacies of ChessBase 13/14.
-George M

Woman FIDE master Carissa Yip, champion of the Wachusett Chess Club in 2014, scored one of the biggest successes in her tournament career by tying as one of the runners-up in the 5th annual Boston Chess Congress, held Jan. 6-8 at the Hyatt Boston Harbor Hotel. Carissa, playing on top board in the final round of the event, drew GM Alexander Ivanov (2564), who clinched first place with a score of 4.5-0.5 Sharing the 2nd and 3rd-place prizes with Carissa with 4-1 tallies were Canadian grandmaster Eric Hansen (2659), IM David Vigorito (2448), and FM Chris Chase (2391). Also scoring 4-1 and finishing as a runner-up was Farzad Abdi (2246), who won the top Under 2300 prize, and M. Derek Meredith (2125), who won the 2nd U2300 prize.
Carissa started the tournament by defeating two high-rated experts in the first two rounds, then drew IM Aleksandr Ostrovskiy (2489) of New York in round 3, beat a frequent rival, master Grant Xu (2396), in round 4 before splitting the point with Ivanov in the final round.
The Wachusett Chess Club congratulates Carissa on her very fine finish.
-George M

CHESS WORKSHOP with George Mirijanian
Saturday, January 7, 2017 at Fitchburg Public Library

CHESS WORKSHOP for youth and adults with George Mirijanian of the Wachusett Chess Club, 10:30 AM 'til noon, Saturday, January 7, 2017 at Fitchburg Public Library. Work on your game, and enjoy the company of other players. George (who is also my uncle) is the host and founder of "Chess Chat," the most popular chess show in the world, which originates at FATV. PLEASE share with students!!
-Sally C.